“So do people. Shut up and listen.”
“I’ll win. Obviously.”
Mary and George watch him test it.
The Cooper family sits around the breakfast table. Mary is reading a pamphlet titled “How to Spot Musical Prowess in Your Child.” Missy is eating cereal with her hands. Georgie is texting on a flip phone. Sheldon, aged 12, is meticulously disassembling a toaster with a screwdriver.
(pops gum) “Honey, you’re thinking too hard. Music is just math with a heartbeat. Here.” She hands him an old cassette tape labeled “M4P — Meemaw’s 4-Track Playlist.”
(small smile) “We’re done.”
Sheldon’s competitors have laser harps and fractal synthesizers. Sheldon walks on stage with only a boombox, an old guitar (borrowed from Georgie), and a hand-drawn frequency chart.
“And I think your fancy Tesla coil would look real pretty as a lawn ornament. We done?”